The Times checks the numbers and determines that congestion pricing is bogged down in the City Council:

It’s the signature policy item of his second term, but Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan may be in serious trouble, not only in Albany but in the New York City Council, which after two years of bowing to much of the mayor’s agenda seems suddenly emboldened to resist him.

A New York Times survey of the Council’s 51 members this week found opposition to the plan running at nearly a 2-1 ratio among those who have taken a position.

Mr. Bloomberg needs 26 votes for approval of the plan, which would charge drivers $8 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.

Asked how they would vote if they had to decide today, 12 council members said they would vote yes, 20 said they would vote no, and 11 said they were undecided, but with serious concerns. The other eight did not respond.

The informal tally bodes poorly for the mayor, who must now split his attention between swaying undecided members of the State Assembly, where opposition up to now has been loudest, and assuaging concerns among council members. It also raises the question of whether council members are more willing to depart from the mayor’s agenda as they turn their focus to their next political campaigns.

And the City Council, known for its courage, seems set to do the right thing:

“It’s going to go down,” said Lewis A. Fidler, a Brooklyn Democrat who opposes congestion pricing. “I think the council members, recognizing it’s not going to pass in Albany, want to assert the integrity of this institution.”

The mayor’s plan must be approved by both the Council and the State Legislature by March 31 for New York to qualify for about $350 million in federal financing.

The mayor and his aides, along with Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, have started an effort to woo council members and legislators in recent weeks.

They stepped up their courtship Thursday night with a dinner at Gracie Mansion to which more than a dozen council members from Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island had been invited. Only six attended, and gathered around a table with the mayor and the speaker over grilled salmon and wine. In a cordial tone, Mr. Bloomberg made his pitch, warning them of the risk of losing federal money just as the city’s economy appears headed for bleak times, according to some members who attended.